By Greg Soukup
Night four of the IMCA Racesaver Sprint Car Nationals, presented by Twin Rivers Jeep Dodge Ram and Twin Rivers Ford was a repeat of nights two and three as far as the weather was concerned. Each day of racing saw the temperature rising, much like the action on the high banks of Eagle Raceway. It had cooled off to only 98 degrees at race time, matching the heated action that was to come as the Battle For The Belt began in earnest.
Beginning with the F Feature, every race meant more and more as drivers tried to advance to the Big Dance where the winner would not only the coveted winner’s belt, the top prize of $3000 but also the knowledge that they had bested the other 86 drivers in attendance.
Unfortunately, there were 3 major incidents in the preliminary action. The first occurred on lap 1 of the F Feature when the 4 of Heath Nestrick slid up into Corby Scherb’s 32, sending Scherb into the turn 1 wall and Nestrick barrel rolling; eventually coming to a halt on top of the 2A of Alex Salzman. In the tangle, the 555 of Bruce Allen suffered a broken rear end when he hit Scherb and was towed pit side. The next incident came during the C Feature when the steering broke on Gunnar Pike’s 25, sending him straight into and over the turn 2 wall and into the catch fence. Next, the B Feature saw Gene Ackland’s 14G slide up into the 18W of Cole Wayman in turns 3 and 4, damaging Wayman’s front end. Wayman kept going but ended up flipping down the front stretch. None of the drivers were seriously hurt.
Finally, it was time for the A Feature for the IMCA Racesaver Sprints to settle in and get down and dirty, chasing the win in the 2023 Nationals. The spotlight introduction of the 27 warriors, highlighted by 3000 glow sticks in the stands served to bring the crowd to a fever pitch in anticipation of the battle about to be waged on the high banks of America’s Home Track. Lap 1 saw Jeremy Huish out front in the 88J with Jason Danley’s 4X, the 76 of Jay Russell and Stu Snyder’s 5 hot on his tail tank. Tyler Drueke passed Snyder on lap 2 to put the 12 into fourth. Drueke then got around Russell for third on lap 5. The next circuit saw the 14H of AJ Hopkins spin out in turn 4 for the first caution of the race. Drueke advanced to second on the restart, passing Danley for the position. The yellow lights were lit in the corners on lap 11 when Ethan Barrow’s 14S slowed dramatically. Snyder moved back up to fourth on the restart. Another caution came out on lap 14 when the 17X of Owen Dimm slowed in turn 2, eventually heading into the infield. Snyder took advantage of the restart to pass Danley for third but Danley regained the spot the next circuit. Lap 20 saw Chris Graf’s 24G and the 20 of Chad Wilson got together in turn 4, sending Graff flipping and causing a huge pileup behind them at the top of the track including the 23F of Dustin Clark, Gene Ackland’s 14G and the 10 of Trevor Serbus. Unfortunately, Drueke had been running the high side for a lot of the race; couldn’t stop in time and ran into Ackland who drifted high in 4 in an attempt to miss the wreck. Ackland suffered extreme damage to his front axle and was done for the night as was Graf. Drueke went to the work area to replace the drag link on his mount. He restarted in the 18th position. Huish inherited the lead with Danley, Snyder and the 93.7 of Mike Boston in fourth. The restart saw Snyder advance to second but lose the spot back to Danley the following circuit. 10 laps remained when the 24 of Tyler Harris passed Boston for fourth. Snyder passed Danley for second with 5 to go. The last change in the top 4 came with 3 to go when Harris also passed Danley for the third spot.
The final top 4 were Huish, Snyder, Harris and Danley. On a side note, Drueke managed to get all the way back up to 6th position after he involvement in the crash fest on lap 20.
Jeremy stated “It kind of shocks me and hasn’t quite settled in yet, but we unloaded with a lot of speed and kept it going all weekend and we had a lot of fun with it. We came up to Eagle for a couple of weekly shows, wanting to expand the notebook a little bit and test some things out. I think it helped for tonight. We really didn’t change a whole lot of things over the weekend. The car was fast all weekend and I couldn’t be happier”. I asked him if he thought that he could have caught Drueke, had Tyler not been involved in the melee in turn 4. He replied “I think it would have been a dog fight. Lapped traffic was very, very congested all over the place. You caught them quickly but just stalled out when you got there. The track had multiple grooves and the lapped traffic was top to bottom, so it would have been a very, very tight race. Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good I guess”. Jeremy’s sponsors include Meyers Racing Engines, Sappa Valley Construction, Wicked by Design, Weber Gross Welding, D&S Machine Shop, Momentum Race Shocks and Diablo Fabrication and Chassis.
The final race for the 2023 season at Eagle Raceway is next Sunday when Tyler Perry Enterprises presents the Stewart Alley Memorial, featuring the Malvern Bank 360 Sprints and the Malvern Bank SLMR Late Models. Be sure to come out and enjoy one final competition and get your racing fix before it’s too late.
RESULTS:
RaceSaver Nationals Sprint A-Feature
1. Jeremy Huish Ness City, Ks. 2. Stuart Snyder Lincoln, Ne. 3. Tyler Harris Vidor, Tx. 4. Jason Danley Lincoln, Ne. 5. Mike Boston Lincoln, Ne. 6. Tyler Drueke Eagle, Ne. 7. Jay Russell Wathena, Ks. 8. Zach Blurton Quinter, Ks. 9. Trevor Grossenbacher Panama, Ne. 10. Shayle Bade Raymond, Ne. 11. Colby Stubblefield Seagoville, Tx. 12. Joey Danley Martell, Ne. 13. Cole Vanderheiden Papillion, Ne. 14. Bill Johnson St. Peter, Mn. 15. Clint Benson Papillion, Ne. 16. Dustin Clark Washington, In. 17. Dusty Ballenger Harrisburg, Sd. 18. Trevor Serbus Olivia, Mn. 19. Aj Hopkins Avon, In. 20. Nick Barger Madison, Sd. 21. Chad Wilson North Richland Hills, Tx. 22. Chris Graf Glencoe, Mn. 23. Adam Gullion Lincoln, Ne. 24. Gene Ackland Martell, Ne. 25. Jake Galusha Lincoln, Ne. 26. Owen Dimm Mifflintown, Pa. 27. Ethan Barrow Bloomington, In.
RaceSaver Nationals Sprint B-Feature
1. Trevor Grossenbacher Panama, Ne. 2. Chad Wilson North Richland Hills, Tx. 3. Gene Ackland Martell, Ne. 4. Trevor Serbus Olivia, Mn. 5. Cole Vanderheiden Papillion, Ne. 6. Adam Gullion Lincoln, Ne. 7. Dusty Ballenger Harrisburg, Sd. 8. Jake Galusha Lincoln, Ne. 9. Aj Hopkins Avon, In. 10. Nathan Weiler Omaha, Ne. 11. Kevin Rutherford Flowermound, Tx. 12. Kade Higday Pleasant Hill, Ia. 13. Owen Carlson Somerset, Wi. 14. Claud Estes Godley, Tx. 15. Daniel Nekolite O`neill, Ne. 16. Matt Johnson Saint Peter, Mn. 17. Cole Wayman(r) Lincoln, Ne. 18. Jeb Sessums Cleburne, Tx. 19. Brandon Bosma Rock Rapids, Ia. 20. Lee Goos Jr Hartford, Sd.
RaceSaver Nationals Sprint C-Feature
1. Brandon Bosma Rock Rapids, Ia. 2. Owen Carlson Somerset, Wi. 3. Nathan Weiler Omaha, Ne. 4. Claud Estes Godley, Tx. 5. Daniel Nekolite O`neill, Ne. 6. Lee Goos Jr Hartford, Sd. 7. Colby Estes Mansfield, Tx. 8. Chase Brewer Waxahachie, Tx. 9. Chase Weiler Lincoln, Ne. 10. Koby Werkmeister Armour, Sd. 11. John Paynter Jr Bloomington, In. 12. Ryder Laplante Calera, Ok. 13. Mike Houseman Jr Des Moines, Ia. 14. Gunnar Pike South Bend, Ne.
RaceSaver Nationals Sprint D-Feature
1. Lee Goos Jr Hartford, Sd. 2. Chase Brewer Waxahachie, Tx. 3. Koby Werkmeister Armour, Sd. 4. Chase Weiler Lincoln, Ne. 5. Brandon Horton Waterloo, Ne. 6. Conner Thomas Post, Tx. 7. Jacob Harris Vidor, Tx. 8. Jacob Gomola Guy Mills, Pa. 9. Jacob Dye Albany, Mo. 10. Mike Moore Des Moines, Ia. 11. Brandon Allen St Peter, Mn. 12. Ryan Kitchen Seward, Ne. 13. Kayla Martin Brownsburg, In. 14. Jeremy Schultz Stewart, Mn.
RaceSaver Nationals Sprint E-Feature
1. Jacob Dye Albany, Mo. 2. Brandon Allen St Peter, Mn. 3. Jacob Gomola Guy Mills, Pa. 4. Mike Moore Des Moines, Ia. 5. Dj Estes Ft Worth, Tx. 6. Landon Thompson Haslet, Tx. 7. Ken Duke Jr Selinsgrove, Pa. 8. Dylan Waxdahl Hartford, Sd. 9. Andrew Sullivan Milford, Ia. 10. Alex Davenport Lincoln, Ne. 11. Daren Bolac Moyock, Nc. 12. Michael Oliver San Antonio, Tx. 13. Jack Hall Yukon, Ok. DNS. Breckton Crouch Lubbock, Tx.
RaceSaver Nationals Sprint F-Feature
1. Michael Oliver San Antonio, Tx. 2. Jack Hall Yukon, Ok. 3. Alex Davenport Lincoln, Ne. 4. Daren Bolac Moyock, Nc. 5. Jordan Rupe Crossroads, Tx. 6. Rick Hansen Omaha, Ne. 7. Andrew Jackson Fremont, Ne. 8. Justin Bolte Fremont, Ne. 9. Junior Jenkins Greenville, Tx. 10. Bill Garrow Lincoln, Ne. 11. Michalob Voeltz Madison, Sd. 12. Glenn Worrell Powhatan, Va. 13. Heath Nestrick Caddo Mills, Tx. 14. Corby Scherb Decatur, Tx. 15. Alex Salzman Lincoln, Ne. 16. Bruce Allen Mankato, Mn.
RaceSaver Nationals Sprint Qualifying 1
1. Jason Danley Lincoln, Ne. 2. Jeremy Huish Ness City, Ks. 3. Stuart Snyder Lincoln, Ne. 4. Tyler Drueke Eagle, Ne. 5. Jay Russell Wathena, Ks. 6. Zach Blurton Quinter, Ks. 7. Ethan Barrow Bloomington, In. 8. Shayle Bade Raymond, Ne. 9. Bill Johnson St. Peter, Mn. 10. Owen Dimm Mifflintown, Pa. 11. Mike Boston Lincoln, Ne. 12. Joey Danley Martell, Ne. 13. Chris Graf Glencoe, Mn. 14. Tyler Harris Vidor, Tx. 15. Colby Stubblefield Seagoville, Tx. 16. Clint Benson Papillion, Ne. 17. Dustin Clark Washington, In. 18. Nick Barger Madison, Sd. 19. Jeb Sessums Cleburne, Tx. 20. Chad Wilson North Richland Hills, Tx. 21. Jake Galusha Lincoln, Ne. 22. Trevor Grossenbacher Panama, Ne. 23. Trevor Serbus Olivia, Mn. 24. Adam Gullion Lincoln, Ne. 25. Gene Ackland Martell, Ne. 26. Cole Vanderheiden Papillion, Ne. 27. Matt Johnson Saint Peter, Mn. 28. Cole Wayman(r) Lincoln, Ne. 29. Aj Hopkins Avon, In. 30. Kevin Rutherford Flowermound, Tx. 31. Kade Higday Pleasant Hill, Ia. 32. Dusty Ballenger Harrisburg, Sd. 33. Owen Carlson Somerset, Wi. 34. Daniel Nekolite O`neill, Ne. 35. Nathan Weiler Omaha, Ne. 36. Claud Estes Godley, Tx. 37. Mike Houseman Jr Des Moines, Ia. 38. Ryder Laplante Calera, Ok. 39. Brandon Bosma Rock Rapids, Ia. 40. Colby Estes Mansfield, Tx. 41. Gunnar Pike South Bend, Ne. 42. John Paynter Jr Bloomington, In. 43. Lee Goos Jr Hartford, Sd. 44. Chase Brewer Waxahachie, Tx. 45. Chase Weiler Lincoln, Ne. 46. Koby Werkmeister Armour, Sd. 47. Brandon Horton Waterloo, Ne. 48. Conner Thomas Post, Tx. 49. Kayla Martin Brownsburg, In. 50. Jeremy Schultz Stewart, Mn. 51. Ryan Kitchen Seward, Ne. 52. Jacob Harris Vidor, Tx. 53. Brandon Allen St Peter, Mn. 54. Jacob Dye Albany, Mo. 55. Jacob Gomola Guy Mills, Pa. 56. Mike Moore Des Moines, Ia. 57. Dj Estes Ft Worth, Tx. 58. Andrew Sullivan Milford, Ia. 59. Landon Thompson Haslet, Tx. 60. Breckton Crouch Lubbock, Tx. 61. Dylan Waxdahl Hartford, Sd. 62. Ken Duke Jr Selinsgrove, Pa. 63. Michael Oliver San Antonio, Tx. 64. Daren Bolac Moyock, Nc. 65. Heath Nestrick Caddo Mills, Tx. 66. Corby Scherb Decatur, Tx. 67. Alex Davenport Lincoln, Ne. 68. Jack Hall Yukon, Ok. 69. Rick Hansen Omaha, Ne. 70. Alex Salzman Lincoln, Ne. 71. Justin Bolte Fremont, Ne. 72. Jordan Rupe Crossroads, Tx. 73. Andrew Jackson Fremont, Ne. 74. Junior Jenkins Greenville, Tx. 75. Michalob Voeltz Madison, Sd. 76. Bruce Allen Mankato, Mn. 77. Bill Garrow Lincoln, Ne. 78. Glenn Worrell Powhatan, Va.